A pneumatic suspension and damping arrangement of the initially mentioned kind is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,145. The arrangement for damping vibrations known from this publication can be operated between a suspension member fixed to the vehicle and a suspension member fixed to the wheel and utilizes an electrorheologic flow means as damping medium. The arrangement has a shorter axial height than the previously known suspension and damping arrangements. The shorter axial height is achieved by arranging two flow means chambers one above the other so that the roll-off contour of the first upper air spring is predefined by the outer contour of the second lower air spring. The flow means chambers are each tightly enclosed by elastic walls and form equally orientated rolling lobes and are connected to each other via a throttle that air can flow through in both directions. An upper cover of the first upper flow means chamber is connected via a piston rod of the shock absorber to a roll-off piston of the second lower flow means chamber. A bumper is mounted on the roll-off piston of the second lower flow means chamber and this bumper is supported on a housing fixed to the wheel when the suspension and damping arrangement is almost completely deflected. The upper cover of the first upper flow means chamber, which is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle, has a volume compensating member, which is supported on the cover of the second lower flow means chamber when the suspension and damping arrangement is almost completely deflected. The cover of the second lower flow means chamber is connected via a housing provided with cutouts to a mounting bracket of a vehicle, which is fixed to the wheel. The pivotability of the suspension and damping arrangement of the end fixed to the chassis with respect to the end fixed to the wheel is relatively low since the pivot bearing of the suspension and damping arrangement cannot be configured as soft and elastic as desired. Because of the widely separated guiding elements and therefore very long guidance of the piston rod of the shock absorber of the suspension and damping arrangement, the arrangement is relatively long. Furthermore, an undesirable friction occurs between these guiding elements and the piston rod, especially if additional transverse forces are present.
German patent publication 24 06 835 also describes a suspension and damping arrangement with air damping. In the suspension and damping arrangement known from this publication, a spring chamber, which decreases by means of a flexible member during deflection and which enlarges during rebounding, and a damper chamber, whose volume can be modified by means of a flexible member, are connected via a throttle element through which air can flow in both directions. The housing of the suspension and damping arrangement, which has an H-shaped cross section, is fixedly connected to the vehicle frame. The respective roll-off pistons of the suspension and damping chambers are supported against the respective upper and/or lower transverse control arms of the wheel mount. This embodiment of a suspension and damping arrangement with the housing having an H-shaped cross section leads to a complex configuration of the wheel mount, especially the fixed connection to the vehicle, and to an increased installation space requirement. This suspension and damping arrangement therefore cannot replace the conventional suspension and damping arrangements without special adaptations on the vehicle body with reference to the wheel mount, the fixed connection to the vehicle body and the installation space. The conventional suspension and damping arrangements include, for example, an air spring and a hydraulic shock absorber, which are usually fixedly mounted in the upper region on the vehicle body and in the lower region with a mounting device on a wheel mount.